Yes, CS5 is out! It looks like a phenomenal release, and we have full coverage – including new products, pricing, configurations, system reqs, videos, “what’s new” feature lists, and more:

• Creative Suite 5 Product Overview  
• CS5 Full Product Configuration Matrix
• CS5 Complete System Requirements
• CS5 Pricing for Commercial and Education
• What’s New in Photoshop CS5  
• What’s New in Dreamweaver CS5  
• What’s New in Illustrator CS5  
• What’s New in InDesign CS5  
• What’s New in Flash Pro CS5  
• All About New Flash Catalyst CS5  
• What’s New in Contribute CS5
• What’s New in Premiere Pro CS5  
• What’s New in After Effects CS5  

ALL CS5 products are immediately available for purchase and instant download, with free shipping on all Adobe orders over €500/£350 in Europe and the U.K. (no coupon or promo code is required)…

On Adobe’s site: If you’re considering upgrading from your current software, here’s a helpful upgrade guide. Also new is an excellent FAQ covering purchasing policies and key product changes… The online documentation for all CS5 products also just went up.

Lastly and importantly, the CS5 free trial downloads and Student and Teacher Editions
(up to 80% off) are also now available!

[UPDATE (May 13th) – Adobe CS5 is now shipping and downloadable in 16 languages: English, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Czech, Polish, Russian, and Korean.]

Related Posts

• Adobe Plans CS5 “Mid-Cycle Release” (CS5.5?), Mulls Subscriptions
• Download Free Adobe CS5 eBook on Photoshop, Dreamweaver, more
• Jump in with Free Adobe CS5 Deep Dive Product Sessions
• Adobe Working on New Release of Creative Suite 5 (CS5.3? CS5.5?)
• When is CS5 Coming Out?

[UPDATE (4/11/2011) – These links still work!  If not, then use instead the direct download links for the original CS5 trials or the new Creative Suite 5.5 trials...]

Click to immediately download whichever you like, from Photoshop CS5 to Master Collection!
All CS5 trials are fully functional for thirty days and can run side-by-side on your system with older versions, without interference. The Windows or Mac downloads can be installed on multiple computers if desired – and if and when you are ready to buy, you can easily convert your trial to permanent unrestricted use without reinstalling the software in most cases:

Note there is a single trial download for Photoshop – it’s Photoshop CS5 Extended, which includes the Standard version. You decide which you wish to activate at the time of purchase.* The same thing goes for CS5 Design Premium and Design Standard – you get the bigger one and choose later. Also, the trials for the suites do not bundle Acrobat 9 Pro – so it must be downloaded separately.

If you’re upgrading to CS5, you can install a trial and then buy an upgrade to convert your trial into a purchased version. What’s more, a single CS5 purchase may entitle you to install and activate the software on two systems with certain restrictions. No serial number is needed to download or run the trials. For more information on these and other questions, refer to the full CS5 Trial FAQ.

See also: The complete CS5 Product Matrix, CS5 Price Sheet & CS5 System Requirements.

* Note that for Adobe’s Education (Student and Teacher) Editions, there is only one version of Photoshop offered or available – the top-of-the-line Photoshop CS5 Extended. The good news is you’re getting 80% off the regular price!

[UPDATE (May 25th) – If you prefer you can use the direct download links for CS5. If you need the free trials for earlier Adobe releases like CS4 and CS3, they're available for download here.]

Related Posts

• Adobe Releases CS5.5 – Now Shipping plus Download Free Trials
• Download Adobe CS5 Free Trials – All Direct Links without Akamai
• Photoshop Elements 10 Direct Download Links: Free Trials, Premiere
• Download Adobe CS5.5 Trials: Direct Links (no Assistant or Manager)
• Giveaway: Try Adobe CS5 for a Chance to Win It Free, or $10,000!

[Now updated for CS 5.5...  Also find out more on the complete differences from CS5.]

One of the most common upgrade questions we see out there is asking what’s new, what’s different, what’s better, what’s changed between Adobe CS5.5 and CS5 or CS4? Or more fundamentally, what are the key new features in CS5.5, versus earlier versions, even CS3?

Creative Suite 5 contains hundreds of new or enhanced features and func­tions across the 13 point products that comprise it. So the easiest way to look at it is by major product… For example, Photoshop CS5 Extended con­tains 18 new features that CS4 didn’t have, plus a further 14 more that have been enhanced. The numbers are similar for other products and even greater over CS3 of course – although generally speaking CS5 has significantly more improvements and innovation compared to CS4 than CS4 had over CS3.

Creative Suite 4 was certainly a capable release (we used it here every day), but some folks have com­mented that CS5 is really the release they wanted when CS4 came out and that CS5 is a game-changer over both previous versions… On that account, we haven’t seen a bad review of CS5 yet.

Creative Suite 5.5 adds further to this with significant new features and enhancements in the areas of mobile, publishing, HTML5, video, audio, and Flash…  Read our full release guide for CS5.5, or find out even when CS6 is due.

So here they are, the breakouts by individual product – the CS5.5 vs. CS5 vs. CS4 vs. CS3 version comparisons:

See also our new focused comparison of CS5 vs. CS5.5, including specific details on all the new features added.

Related Posts

• Adobe CS6 Upgrade Policy Changes Postponed! CS3 & CS4 on Track
• Adobe Extends 20%-Off CS5.5 Upgrades Discount Offer to March
• Adobe’s New Upgrade Policy for CS6: What It Means for You [Poll]
• Adobe Says No CS6 Upgrade Discounts from Older CS2, CS3, or CS4
• Get Your Upgrade to Adobe CS5.5 for 20% Less – Limited Promotion

We’ve covered AdobeTV before, but it just keeps getting bigger and better… They’ve just issued a large series of free new video tutorials for every CS5 point product. You can learn the basics with Getting Started overviews and New Features re­views by product experts, over 17 hours in all. And if you want to get started today, you can go ahead and down­load a 30-day free trial for any CS5 product and begin getting trained…

Here’s how it breaks out:

The extensive how-to series of tips, tricks, and techniques was produced by the well-regarded Lynda.com in partnership with Adobe.

Related Posts

• Adobe Photoshop Best Tips, Tricks, Techniques, Training & Tutorials
• The Five Essential Principles of Web & Interaction Design: A Tutorial
• Learn How to Create a Website with Adobe Dreamweaver CS5
• How to Learn Adobe After Effects CS5 for Free
• Free Adobe Video Training

The Adobe Student and Teacher Editions look like a great deal. They offer big discounts, as much as 80% off normal prices. They’re available for most of Adobe’s product line, including Creative Suite 5.5, Lightroom 3, Acrobat X, and Elements 10.  They can be purchased by anyone who qualifies – primary and secondary school students, college or university students, faculty, teachers, and administrators.  Even part-time students or teachers can be eligible, and there is no age limitation. They’re available pretty much worldwide in many languages on both Windows and Mac, and you don’t need any kind of coupon or promotion code to get the deep discounts.

So what’s the catch? Is the Academic software different or limited somehow? Is there any sort of time restriction, time limit, or time out – do Adobe Student Editions expire? Or are they unusable for commercial purposes?

The answer to all of these questions is fortunately no: all Education products are identical in features and functionality in every respect to the current standard versions – the only differ­ences are the prices and some of the licensing terms… The prices, as mentioned, are a real bargain – for example, instead of US$999 for Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended, you pay only $199; instead of $1,799 for CS5.5 Design Premium (Adobe’s most popular suite with eight major products including Photoshop Extended), you get it for $449.

Since CS5, the Student and Teacher Editions can be utilized for personal as well as commercial use, for all academic customers worldwide. So yes, you can sell your services or anything you create, or use these products in developing a side business or online venture. And after graduation or completion of coursework, you can continue to use the software on your personal systems; there is no usage expiration and the tools will continue to work.

But it’s true there are some limitations as compared to the regular editions… Happily they are all fairly minor:

• Each eligible person may purchase only one copy of each product per platform per year.
• Student & Teacher Edition software may be used on your privately-owned computer only.
• The software is not transferrable, meaning it may not be resold or given to others.
• You validate eligibility after placing your order to receive your unique serial number key.
• Student editions cannot be upgraded to other education editions – but do receive Adobe’s discounted upgrade pricing to all regular commercial versions (say for a future release like CS6 or CS7), or you can purchase another student edition if you still qualify. But the student price on a new release is often lower than the commercial upgrade price anyway, so you can just choose which is cheaper depending…  Bottom line, this is another substantial savings and advantage of owning these – basically you get your future releases discounted as well.

So why take your chances on the risks and malware in a pirated or bootleg version of CS5.5 when you can get the real deal – legitimate, supported, and completely safe – for up to 80% off, direct via instant download from Adobe?

Here’s a very helpful Student & Teacher Eligibility Guide that should answer other questions you may have, including documentation requirements…  Documents dated within the last six months are considered current.

Related Posts

• Adobe CS5.5 Student and Teacher Editions – How to Save 80%
• Adobe CS5.5 Student Editions – Save Extra $50, No Coupon Needed
• Enormous Discounts with Adobe Education Pricing
• Free Yearlong Adobe CS5 Curriculums for Teachers & Students
• Adobe CS6 Upgrade Policy Changes Postponed! CS3 & CS4 on Track

Productivity

CS5 brings quantifiable efficiency to users (see just-released benchmarks) through its optimi­zation for the latest hardware and operating systems and its focus on reducing common prod­uction tasks from days to hours and from hours to a few mouse clicks. For example, CS5 users can work up to 10X faster with large Photoshop images, get jaw-dropping video-editing speed, and perform numerous work­flow-specific production tasks in a fraction of the time.

Differentiation

CS5 introduces rich new creativity features for print, web, interactive, mobile, and video professionals to produce compelling content and stories that make brands stand out in a crowded marketplace. For example, companies can incorporate cutting-edge 3D objects and motion graphics into their creative thanks to new Repoussé technology in Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended.

Reach

CS5 helps you capitalize on the pervasiveness of the Flash platform and the latest digital publishing trends to better reach, retain, and deliver value to customers wherever they are. For example, CS5 enables you to prepare content for the latest mobile devices such as the Apple iPad, Google Android, RIM Blackberry, Amazon Kindle, Sony eBook Reader, and Barnes & Noble nook.

Optimization

CS5 introduces integration with Omniture web analytics for closely tracking ROI and fine-tun­ing the spend in an enterprise digital strategy. Current Omniture customer can adopt CS5 to streamline and control costs in A/B testing and allow designers and developers to instrument Flash content directly within their creative workflows without manual tagging. And long-term CS users can add Omniture analytics to an effective digital strategy (requires separate investment in Omniture tools as well as in CS5).

Innovative Industry Leadership

Only Adobe CS5 offers comprehensive, industry-leading tools for print, web, interactive, mo­bile, video, and application development – all of the touchpoints in an effective digital strategy. The tight integration among these tools enables teams to share assets and collaborate more effectively across disciplines. Adobe CS5 continues Adobe’s long history of innovative solutions that address pressing business needs.

For over a dozen more reasons to upgrade, see this page.

Related Posts

• Adobe CS6 Upgrade Policy Changes Postponed! CS3 & CS4 on Track
• Adobe Extends 20%-Off CS5.5 Upgrades Discount Offer to March
• Adobe’s New Upgrade Policy for CS6: What It Means for You [Poll]
• Adobe Says No CS6 Upgrade Discounts from Older CS2, CS3, or CS4
• Get Your Upgrade to Adobe CS5.5 for 20% Less – Limited Promotion

 ◊ Photoshop CS5 delivers exceptional power and creative control with the next generation of advanced tools for outstanding image manipulation and superior compositing. It redefines image editing with a strong focus on photography, including breakthrough selection capabi­lities, content-aware fill options, state-of-the-art processing of raw images, advanced creation of High Dynamic Range (HDR) imagery, automated lens corrections, puppet warp technology, extraordinary new painting effects, and a sweeping range of workflow and performance enhancements that boost productivity.

 ◊ Photoshop CS5 Extended takes it even further, as a superset of tools and features made for professionals who want to push the boundaries of digital imaging. It delivers all the editing, compositing, and painting capabilities of Photoshop CS5 plus powerful new features for creat­ing stunning 3D artwork from selections, graphics, and type with direct control over lighting, materials, and meshes. See the complete differences between Standard vs. Extended.

And here’s what the reviewers have to say about it:

“When was the last time software changed the way you think and see? Photoshop CS5 will.”
  — John Paul Caponigro, photographer

“Each new version of Photoshop has included many exciting enhancements, but Photoshop CS5 is the most amazing technological jump I’ve seen since I started using the software.”
  — Ira Block, Ira Block Photography

“The Content-Aware Fill feature in Photoshop CS5 got a wow from me when I first used it. It is very good at replacing areas where you would otherwise need to use more strokes and time to clone or heal out a distracting element in a photograph.”
  — Dianne Taylor-Misztela, TM Photo

“The new Puppet Warp feature in Photoshop CS5 will be a great tool for making adjustments that so many times are needed to make images look more realistic than reality – like small changes in the position of arms and legs. This tool has a great potential within all compositing work and is a great complement to the Liquify and Transform tools.”
  — Jann Lipka, photographer

“The Edge Detection controls in Photoshop CS5 are at least twice as fast as the old tricks we used to use to remove an object from one background and place it on another. We can quickly make selections and then move on to the more creative work that our clients expect. This is Photoshop at its best!”
  — Francisco Camberos, The Visionaire Group

“Content Aware Fill in Photoshop CS5 will save you hours, if not days, of retouching. It might even change the way you think about composing your images.”
  — John Paul Caponigro, photographer

“Adobe has always had the best 32-bit merging capabilities with the ability to merge raw files. With HDR Pro in Photoshop CS5, Adobe knocks it out of the park with really smart, anti-­ghost­ing and auto-­alignment technology.”
  — Colin Smith, founder, PhotoshopCAFE

“Seeing the new capabilities of Photoshop CS5 software had me immediately thinking about what I can do with them. New features like Puppet Warp and Content-Aware Fill make things that are difficult for me easy, and things that were impossible possible!”
  — Stephen Marc, photographer

“The new Mixer Brush in Photoshop CS5 is a welcome advancement in the simulation of painterly brushwork. Expressive digital natural-media tools are quickly becoming an adjunct to photographic imagery, enabling a new visual vocabulary. Combined with the expert control over photographic imagery in Photoshop, the effect is like dipping your paintbrush into a photograph.”
  — John Derry, photographer

“The Bristle Tips feature in Photoshop CS5 and the Bristle Brush tool in Illustrator CS5 will make an immediate impact on the design world. Without a doubt, the amazing new brush stroke effects they create will be a staple in both student portfolios and the advertising industry.”
  — Kevin McMahon, graphic design and video production teacher

“Adobe Repoussé in Photoshop CS5 Extended will make my life so much easier, especially when I need to mix 3D elements with my 2D workflow. I can create 3D objects and 3D text inside Photoshop CS5 Extended using Adobe Repoussé instead of having to import artwork from a 3D application or emulate the effect using perspectives and vanishing points. This will save me so much time and help me add unique 3D elements to my work.”
  — Fabio Sasso, Zee Design

“Adobe clearly knows where the future is going in terms of 3D integration into a graphic designer’s workflow. With Adobe Repoussé in Photoshop CS5 Extended, graphic designers who make their money creating 2D logos can extend their capabilities to include transforming logo art into 3D objects for web and print, making them more valuable to their clients.”
  — Stephen Burns, Chromeallusion.com

“Whenever I’m photographing interiors, I’m always backed into a corner wishing I had another ten feet to work with. The new Lens Correction features in Photoshop CS5 provide me that extra perspective and allow me to present an image the way I saw it, not just the way the camera captured it.”
  — LaNola Stone, photographer

“Sending high resolution images over e-mail is always challenging. Adobe CS Review in Photoshop CS5 is incredibly helpful because I can look at images with my clients in real time – even in the middle of a shoot – so my clients get the shots they want every time.”
  — Theresa Raffetto, photographer

“The benefits of the customer-inspired productivity enhancements in Photoshop CS5 are exponential. Saving time adds up like compounding interest, and each time-saver yields a more efficient workflow, which yields more productivity, which ultimately yields better imagery and better business.”
  — Jerome Ferraro, photographer

Read more:

• Reviews and awards from the press (Editors’ Choice Awards)
• Reviews from everyday Photoshop users (4.9 out of 5 stars total)

Related Posts

• Photoshop CS5′s Content-Aware Fill: Before & After the Right Way
• Compare Photoshop Editions: CS5 vs. Elements 10 vs. Lightroom 3
• Adobe Photoshop Best Tips, Tricks, Techniques, Training & Tutorials
• Photoshop CS5 Basic and Advanced Masking Techniques [Videos]
• Free Printing Guide for Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator & Acrobat

[UPDATE (4/11/2011) – See also the top questions answered for new CS5.5!]

Last week there was an online Q&A session called “Ask a CS Pro,” where we got news on when CS5 would be released. The session with Adobe Evangelists Terry White, Greg Rewis, and Jason Levine lasted over an hour and there were a lot of other great questions address­ed. Here are some:

What other questions do you have about CS5? Just ask in the comments below and we’ll see if we can get them answered quickly for you.

Related Posts

• How to Move Adobe CS5.5 Between Computers, or from PC to Mac
• What’s in Adobe CS5.5 for Me? Ask a CS Evangelist
• Adobe CS5.5 FAQ – Customers’ Top Questions Answered
• Adobe CS6 Upgrade Policy Changes Postponed! CS3 & CS4 on Track
• How to Get or Buy Older Adobe Software Versions like CS4 or CS5.0

While HTML5 and CSS3 won’t be finalized for some time, this extension provides initial support in Dreamweaver CS5 for a set of currently-implemented functions, helping you easily create HTML5 pages and CSS3 styles. It introduces great features like multiscreen preview (which lets you see what your web page will look like on phones, tablets, and desktop computers simultaneously within Dreamweaver), HTML5 and CSS3 code hinting, video and audio tag support in Live View, and even a few HTML5-compliant starter layouts to get you up and running with HTML5 layouts quickly.

If you’ve been tuned into the technology news lately, you’ll know these sorts of improvements mark a great advance for Dreamweaver users working in this fast-changing world of smart­phones and other portable devices. Although their specifications are still being finalized, HTML5 and CSS3 can be used with any browser that currently supports them. The most recent ver­sions of the leading browsers (Safari, Firefox, Opera, Internet Explorer, Chrome) support at least some (a few support many) HTML5 and CSS3 features.

Here’s a complete list of available resources for these new capabilities, available immediately:

• Download: Adobe Dreamweaver CS5 HTML5 Pack
• Article: Using the HTML5 Pack for Dreamweaver CS5
• Discussion Forum: The Dreamweaver CS5 HTML5 Pack
• Demo Video:

Related Posts

• The New Adobe Illustrator CS5 HTML5 Pack – How to Use Tutorial
• Using Adobe CS5 to Create Websites and Apps for Mobile & Tablets
• Learn How to Create a Website with Adobe Dreamweaver CS5
• Adobe Creative Suite 5 Is Now Shipping!
• Three Dreamweaver CS5 (?) “Sneak Peek” Videos

But does the real feature live up to its advance billing?

While it’s not perfect and doesn’t always do what you hope or imagine (after all, it’s still just a computer), generally in practice it still does amazingly well – and often unbelievably so. And we have a handful of new videos here to illustrate, thanks to Terry White and Russell Brown. The tips and techniques shared below will help you get the most out of this capability.

The first video covers the best new features in Photoshop CS5 generally, including three great examples of Content-Aware Fill in action… The second, to the right, introduces the concept of Content-Aware Rotation – magically filling in the missing parts to the background of a rotated image with Content-Aware Fill. The third one develops the technique of Wire Removal with Content-Aware Healing – easily removing unwanted lines and wires from your images. And the last video shows how to create Content-Aware Patterns – discovering creative ways to accurately control, and create, patterns with Content-Aware Fill.

For full-screen viewing, click the expand icon and then 480p after pressing play on each thumbnail:

See reviews of Content-Aware Fill and other aspects of Photoshop CS5… Or for more great videos on new features in Creative Suite 5, check out www.cs5.tv

Related Posts

• Photoshop CS5′s Content-Aware Fill: Before & After the Right Way
• Adobe Photoshop Best Tips, Tricks, Techniques, Training & Tutorials
• Photoshop CS5 Basic and Advanced Masking Techniques [Videos]
• Impressionist Oil Painting with Free Adobe Plug-in for Photoshop CS5
• Advanced Puppet Warping with Photoshop CS5

Content Aware Fill is one of the major features added in Adobe Photoshop CS5, and is said to be one of its greatest new timesavers. CAF allows you to move or delete parts of your image and Photoshop will automatically and intelligently fill in the space left behind. We’ve written about it before with the quote, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguish­able from magic.” [Arthur C. Clarke]

And in our shop here we save hours every month from using Content Aware Fill as well as other CS5 advancements like Puppet Warp and the improved edge/masking tools.

Yet we still see some people claiming that Content Aware Fill “doesn’t work,” “doesn’t give results like in the demo video,” “doesn’t use the right back­ground,” or is just hype, smoke-and-mirrors, or a “gimmick.”

It’s true that it doesn’t always work and of course has its limitations. You can’t synthesize brand new material or hidden content that doesn’t exist in some related form elsewhere in the image. And often it will require some retouching afterwards to get the final result you want.

But usually it will get you most of the way there very quickly – if you know the most effective ways to use the feature. The best is when it “just works” without doing anything special, and this happens often enough too…

Here is a quick before-and-after example that required doing nothing more than an item selection and a content-aware delete… and one could say that for (literally) a two-minute job, it borders on magic…  Just roll over with your mouse (or tap) for the before and after results:

So what are the tips for ensuring Photoshop’s Content Aware Fill works the way you want? Here are two video walkthroughs to help learn how to make it do your heavy lifting.

The first features Russell Brown showing several before and after examples – with the key technique being to make a tight selection of what you want to fill or remove, and then expanding your selection by 5-10 pixels all around… (use the Select menu > Modify > Expand… Expand Selection by X Pixels) Setting things up that way gives the CAF algorithm just the right amount information on what it should remove and what it should use to fill in the space, without getting things you don’t want or mixing in too much.

The second tutorial is from Terry White and shows how to use Layer Masks to exclude the part(s) of the image you don’t want Content Aware Fill to draw data from at all. Alternatively, you can do the inverse and use the same method to include only the areas you do want the tool to use when composing the filled space. And as the video title indicates – “What to Do When Content Aware Fill or Content Aware Scale Doesn’t Work” – he gives tips for using Photoshop’s Content Aware Scaling feature as well.

And of course if you then combine both of these techniques your results will be better still… Sometimes it takes a little experimentation, and if the area to be filled is complex (or large), then do it in sections.

Here they are… and hopefully with the skills from these two videos in hand, you’ll get more satisfying – fast and timesaving – results from the latest version of Photoshop.

[Extra:  Watch Part 1 of Russell Brown's show.]

Download a free trial of Photoshop CS5 and try it out yourself!

Check out more of the best tutorials for Photoshop (any learning level or product version).

Watch other video demonstrations of more Content-Aware Fill tricks & techniques.

Related Posts

• Adobe Photoshop Best Tips, Tricks, Techniques, Training & Tutorials
• Photoshop CS5 Basic and Advanced Masking Techniques [Videos]
• Impressionist Oil Painting with Free Adobe Plug-in for Photoshop CS5
• Advanced Puppet Warping with Photoshop CS5
• Advanced Magic with Photoshop CS5′s Content-Aware Fill

= BREAKING NEWS =

Two months ago Adobe made a major change in the Creative Suite upgrade policy that had been in place since CS3 came out in April 2007…

Had you heard about it? If not, here’s what they said on the new upgrade policy for CS6…
In a nutshell, Adobe said only customers running Creative Suite 5 products would be eligible for discounted upgrade pricing to the new CS6 when it comes out.

Customers spoke up and reaction to the change was pretty unfavorable across the web… Results from our own poll here showed a striking 91% against the move including the company’s related business model changes to the Creative Cloud.

And now, in a stunning turnabout, Adobe says they have been listening and are backing off the new policy, in response to customer feedback…

Yes, it’s true – and just as we were one of the first to break the original story, we’re back now with the good news that the older Creative Suite versions like CS3 and CS4 will indeed be able to get upgrade discounts to CS6 in the future.

Here it is from our Adobe Partner Update:

CS6 Upgrade Offer for CS3 and CS4 Customers

With these great new releases coming in 2012, we want to make sure our customers have plenty of time to discover which offering is best for them. Therefore, we’re pleased to announce that we will offer special introductory upgrade pricing on Creative Suite 6 to our customers who own CS3 or CS4.

This offer will be available from the time CS6 is released until December 31, 2012. More details on this offer, as well as any introductory offers for existing customers to move to Creative Cloud membership, will be announced when CS6 and Creative Cloud are released later this year.

In other words, Adobe will effectively be restoring their longstanding “three versions back” upgrade policy through the launch of CS6, until the end of this year…

You can read more details about the new policy here, under the section, “What is Adobe’s upgrade pricing policy?”  Note you will be able to purchase future CS products just like today, as perpetual (permanent) desktop licenses.

So, all you folks with CS3 or CS4 can now rest easy if your plans have been to upgrade to CS6 all along, as this will give you the chance to do it with lower prices as you had been expecting. For those customers now on CS5 or CS5.5, it should cost even less for you to upgrade to CS6 under Adobe’s Tiered Upgrade Pricing Policy, because you own a more recent version.

Note the company has not announced CS6 pricing for anybody yet, so at this point we don’t know these exact numbers and how different they’ll be from those for CS5, if at all.

But if you do get on board with CS6 later this year, then looking forward under the new policy starting in 2013, you’d have nearly four years to think about later upgrading from CS6 to CS7 down the line.

So it’s good to see that after all the discussion, Adobe listened – and rethought this policy in a way that gave enough notice and made more sense for customers.

Please spread the word and share this news with anyone who you think should know!

See also:  Acrobat, Lightroom, and Elements – How Are They Affected By Creative Cloud?

Related Posts

• Adobe’s New Upgrade Policy for CS6: What It Means for You [Poll]
• Adobe Says No CS6 Upgrade Discounts from Older CS2, CS3, or CS4
• Adobe Extends 20%-Off CS5.5 Upgrades Discount Offer to March
• What are the Differences between CS5.5 vs. CS5 vs. CS4 vs. CS3?
• Get Your Upgrade to Adobe CS5.5 for 20% Less – Limited Promotion

Adobe’s Creative Suite 5.5 has been out since May, and has generally been well-reviewed and even lauded as a must-have release…  Nevertheless, some folks are still looking for or require older versions of the software, like CS5.0 or CS4.  Why?

Two common reasons are the higher system requirements – 64-bit for some components of CS5 like After Effects & Premiere Pro, as well as cases where the rest of a customer’s site is still running an older version and would like to add a new setup with the same compatibility. And occasionally some folks say they prefer the earlier, simpler versions over newer ones with more features.

The challenge is, once a new release comes out, Adobe no longer officially sells the older version. So if you need a prior release, what do you do?

If you want the trial version to use for 30 days, that’s easy – Adobe actually keeps most older original trials still available for download on their servers – including all of CS4 and CS5, plus earlier releases of Acrobat, Lightroom, Elements, etc… You can find those trials all linked for download here.

But how about when you want to actually buy CS4 or CS5.0?

If you ask Adobe, they’ll usually tell you to check their official list of authorized resellers & retailers to see if someone still has the version you want in stock. The problem is it’s inconvenient to search as often those stocks are thin or sold out, and no longer available.

So, do you turn to other random sources like eBay or Craigslist?  If you’re smart, definitely not – we strongly advise against eBay et al.  So what do you do?

The Solution: Order “Prior-Version Software”

Fortunately, there is an easy solution. It’s little-known, but Adobe actually sells a special type of license that can be “downgraded.” These unique products come from the Adobe Business Store (and are also known as volume licenses) – but you don’t have to be a business to get them, or even buy more than one copy, and they can be easily purchased online instantly with a credit card.

So these “business” licenses have this helpful capability which allows you to order the latest release (like CS5.5 or Acrobat X) but then optionally receive and use the prior version instead (like CS5.0 or CS4, or Acrobat 9).  Here it is spelled out:

Backward licensing policy
Adobe allows program members to order a current-version license but to use a prior version. These members can contact Adobe Customer Service to request a serial number for the earlier version if they do not already have one.

Prior-version software is available via Electronic Software Delivery [download from Adobe]. The program member must follow all guidelines of the current-version EULA.

Adobe has a name for this program (which again, anyone can buy from) – it’s called the Transactional Licensing Program (TLP) and it doesn’t cost extra – in fact customers typically get discounts off the regular price. And there are other nice features of these licenses as well, including the ability to run your software multi-platform on both Windows and Mac OS – which is also not possible elsewhere.

So if this is what you need to do now, then you may want to check this out.

Related Posts

• How to Install or Run Adobe CS5.5 on Both Windows PC and Mac OS
• Any Problems Downloading or Installing Adobe CS5 or CS5.5?
• Adobe CS6 Upgrade Policy Changes Postponed! CS3 & CS4 on Track
• Adobe Extends 20%-Off CS5.5 Upgrades Discount Offer to March
• Adobe Photoshop Best Tips, Tricks, Techniques, Training & Tutorials

Adobe has just extended their popular current offer for all customers to save an additional 20% off the regularly-discounted upgrade price when you move up to CS5.5 (to either a suite or an individual product) from any earlier qualifying Adobe tool listed below.

This special was set to expire at year-end but has now been extended into March 2012 and continues to be available worldwide, with no coupon or promotion code required.  It’s valid for upgrading to all the latest CS5.5 versions, and also includes Photoshop CS5.1 and Illustrator CS5 as well.

The additional time comes following Adobe’s recent news of a major change in upgrade policy whereby only users with CS5.5 or CS5.0 would qualify for upgrade pricing to CS6 when it is released.

The new expiration dates for the additional 20% off upgrade savings are:

   North American Store:  Extended through March 15, 2012.
   European Stores:  Extended through 15 March 2012.
   Australia/NZ + Asia:  Extended through 15 March 2012.

So if you currently have one of these Adobe products with a valid license (either commercial or for education/student), then you qualify for this promotion:

• Creative Suite 4 Design Premium, Design Standard, Web Premium, Web Standard, Production Premium, or Master Collection
• Creative Suite 3 Design Premium, Design Standard, Web Premium, Web Standard, Production Premium, or Master Collection
• Creative Suite 2 Premium or Standard
• Adobe Production Studio Premium or Standard
• Adobe Design Bundle (Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium and Macromedia Flash Pro 8)
• Adobe Web Bundle (Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium and Macromedia Studio 8)
• Adobe Video Bundle (Adobe Production Studio Premium and Macromedia Flash Pro 8)
• Macromedia Studio 8
• After Effects CS4, CS3, or 7.0 (Professional or Standard)
• Flash CS4 Pro or Flash CS3 Pro, Macromedia Flash Pro 8, or Flash Basic 8
• Illustrator CS4, CS3, or CS2
• Audition CS4, CS3, or CS2
• Dreamweaver CS4, CS3, or CS2
• Fireworks CS4, CS3, or CS2
• InDesign CS4, CS3, or CS2
• Photoshop CS4, CS3, or CS2
• Photoshop CS4 Extended or CS3 Extended
• Premiere Pro CS4, CS3, or CS2
• Any version of Adobe Premiere

If you want to try out the product upgrade first, you can download the free trial for any software you choose, and then later convert the trial to a permanent version using this offer if you like. This works even for upgrades, which will run side-by-side with your other installed Adobe tools without difficulty.

This discount offer is available in the following Country Stores: USA, Canada, Mexico, UK, Ireland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Portugal, Spain, Poland, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia (Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand), China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Hope this news helps save you some money…

Read more about CS5.5

To receive future notification of special promotions and coupon codes like these, get on our free occasional Adobe Special Offers mailing list in the sidebar just up and to the right.

Related Posts

• Adobe Says No CS6 Upgrade Discounts from Older CS2, CS3, or CS4
• Get Your Upgrade to Adobe CS5.5 for 20% Less – Limited Promotion
• Adobe CS6 Upgrade Policy Changes Postponed! CS3 & CS4 on Track
• Adobe’s New Upgrade Policy for CS6: What It Means for You [Poll]
• What are the Differences between CS5.5 vs. CS5 vs. CS4 vs. CS3?

“What’s the difference between the different Photoshops?”

We’ve seen this question sooo many times, we just had to write a complete article about it.  With four different members of the Adobe Photoshop family, it can be confusing what is what and which to get…  And now that Photoshop Elements 10 has just been released, it’s a good time to look at this.

If you ask Adobe, they’ll tell you:

Q:  How do Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop Extended, Photoshop Elements, and Photoshop Lightroom software differ?

A:  Photoshop Elements 10 (US$99) is designed for people who are just getting started with digital photo editing, and delivers powerful yet easy-to-use options that help you organize, edit, create, share, and help protect your personal photos.

Photoshop CS5 (US$699, actually CS5.1) is the professional standard for creating and manipulating powerful images, and Photoshop CS5 Extended (US$999) delivers every­thing in Photoshop plus tools for creating and editing 3D and motion-based images.

Photoshop Lightroom 3 (US$299) addresses the workflow needs of professional and serious amateur photographers, enabling them to import, process, organize, and showcase large volumes of digital photographs quickly.

And indeed they do nicely summarize all the different versions on one page.

So that’s a good starting point, but let’s dig a little deeper. Here’s another way of looking at it, functionally:

• Photoshop CS5 – The latest-and-greatest “flagship” (or regular/standard) version of the breakthrough industry-standard tool – the world’s leading pixel manipulation program.
• Photoshop Elements 10 – A scaled-down, simpler version for hobbyists and home market, with fewer features, functions, and options – it offers “elements” of the full program.
• Photoshop Lightroom 3 – Not really “photoshop” or a pixel-level editor at all, but rather a non-destructive image workflow system for serious and pro photographers.
• Photoshop CS5 Extended – The “top of the line” with everything: it takes Photoshop CS5 and adds editing for both 3D and motion (video!) content, as well as image analysis.

That captures the essence, and we have in-depth comparisons below. But if just from reading that you’re unsure which one is right for you, Adobe offers free downloadable trial editions of all four editions which are fully-functional for 30 days. So you can get any one (or multiple, or all) for tryout to see which work(s) best.

But it’s not “either/or” – many folks actually end up buying two of these: Lightroom together with one of the CS5 editions (or Elements) – they are complementary and integrated to work well together, in fact Adobe offers a 30% discount when those products are purchased at the same time.

All four products are available for both Windows PC and Mac OS – and in fact all of them can be run on both platforms, with the ability to install on up to two computers for each tool. If you own a previous release of the same product, then you may qualify for the Upgrade version which costs less ($US79 for Elements, US$199 for Photoshop CS, and US$99 for Lightroom), otherwise you’d get the Full version.

Compare Photoshop CS5 vs. Photoshop CS5 Extended

OK, we’ve actually written a whole separate article on just that question – the differences between Photoshop vs. Photoshop Extended – so please see that related piece for more details there… 

Importantly, note that in almost all of Adobe’s suites, and in all of Adobe’s education versions for students & teachers, the edition of Photoshop is Extended.  That’s a good thing.

For the other three editions (Photoshop CS5 vs. Lightroom 3 vs. PSE 10):  What are some of the features in one version but not the other(s), or unique to each?

Compare Photoshop CS5 vs. Photoshop Elements 10

As mentioned earlier, most would say that Photoshop Elements 10 is a stripped-down version of the full Photoshop CS5 with significantly fewer features, options, and controls. On the other hand, PSE is targeted towards the consumer market and Adobe has designed it to be easier to get started with and learn to use.

There is a long list of features it does not contain as compared to the full Photoshop CS5. Here are a few that Photoshop CS has, but that Photoshop Elements does not have:

• Puppet Warp
• Pen Tool (vector drawing & selections)
• Content-Aware Fill
• 64-bit support (for performance)
• HDR Pro
• Paths Palette
• Vanishing Point Tool
• History Brush
• Curves
• Full 16-bit RGB
• Creating custom Actions
• Smart Objects, Smart Guides
• Color Balance and Match Color
• Channels Palette and Mixer
• Automatic lens correction
• Warp Transform Tool
• 3D objects & text
• Pixel Bender plug-in
• CMYK and Lab color models
• Truer Edge detection technology
• Adjustments & controls for everything

That said, because Photoshop Elements is meant for home use, there are some features it contains that Photoshop CS5 does not have – for example, templates for photo books, slideshows, greeting cards, email, print calendars, scrapbook pages, and online albums, as well as drop-in frames, backgrounds, and artwork, plus online sharing options for Facebook, Flickr, etc.  Elements also offers more user assistance through aspects like Guided Edits and shortcuts like Quick Fix mode, the Smart Brush tool, and Cookie Cutter tool.

For keeping track of images, Photoshop Elements includes the Organizer to manage photos and videos, which is considered to be simpler but slower than the Bridge media browser that comes with Photoshop CS5. However, most users feel that Lightroom’s smooth library and cataloging functions are superior to both, and especially better when you have a large number of images.

Note that for students and teachers, Adobe gives a much bigger discount on Photoshop Extended (80% off the regular price) than on Photoshop Elements (only 20% off).

Compare Photoshop CS5/Elements vs. Lightroom 3

So, how is Lightroom different from all of the above? Lightroom 3 an intuitive digital darkroom and efficient assistant designed for advanced amateur and professional photographers. LR3 lets you manage, edit, and showcase all your photographs – and do it quickly, powerfully, smoothly. It’s a complete photo and data management solution that was built from the ground up by Adobe to streamline workflow productivity for photographers.

Lightroom has the library and cataloging functions to work with a large collection of images easily and process them rapidly in groups or batches, with a sophisticated database for very fast search, keyword tagging, and previewing functions – even when your image files aren’t accessible on your computer. It has built-in RAW processing (also works with .JPEG, .TIFF, and .PSD images) and can make corrections based upon the camera and lenses you use.  LR has terrific tools for “developing” like correcting exposure, adjusting tone, lighting, white balance, contrast, color, saturation, sharpening, and noise reduction, which are state-of-the-art. There’s also a local adjustment brush for dodging and burning, graduated filters, and so on.

And all of it is nondestructive, meaning you can go back and simply undo or redo changes to any image at any time, even years later. This is much like film, where photographers can always return to their original negative – whereas in standard Photoshop, once you change and save an object, you permanently change the pixels.

Lightroom is not for performing detailed pixel-level editing, compositing multiple images, using layers, cloning & healing, adding text, drawing shapes, editing objects out of a photos, or many of the other capabilities Photoshop has. However, many thousands of serious photographers use Lightroom very efficiently every day for 90% of their needs, and then pop out to tightly-integrated Photoshop for the rest (retouching and post-processing).

Lightroom is an end-to-end digital photography solution so it also includes features to showcase your work in customized print layouts, slide shows, and web galleries, and on popular photo-sharing sites.

So if you want the photographer’s workflow to manage thousands of images with ease then you’re talking about Lightroom, but you want to perfect a single image with the “gold standard” professional editing & finishing tool then you’re talking about Photoshop. The two products complement each other and together comprise a complete image processing system.

Adobe has an excellent FAQ on Lightroom and more on the differences between other tools.

This short video answers the question “What is Lightroom?” for new users of the product. Lightroom unites your digital photography essentials in one fast and intuitive package and gets you there with the tools you need to create great images, manage all your photographs, and showcase them with style and impact.

Adobe Camera Raw (ACR)

Interestingly, all products in the Photoshop family share the same underlying image processing technology to ensure consistent and compatible results across applications that support raw processing. This is called the Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) plug-in and it’s packaged in with Photoshop CS, Photoshop Elements, and Lightroom. This is the interface where support for new camera models and lens profiles is added, so Adobe updates this plugin on a regular basis (about every 3-4 months).

You can get access down to the powerful ACR features from within Photoshop CS or Elements, while Lightroom essentially takes Camera Raw and centers a full-featured application around it with all the streamlined workflow and cataloging benefits described above.

Free Tutorials and Training

Learn how to use these tools!  As mentioned above, you can download a free trial of any or all of them to get started, and then:

• Best Free Photoshop Tips, Tricks, Techniques, Training & Tutorials
• 4 Hours of Free Video Tutorials for New Photoshop Elements 10 & 9
• Three Hours of Free Courses on Lightroom 3, plus Other Resources

Have any other questions about the differences between these Photoshop products?  Just ask them below and we’ll answer!

Related Posts

• Buy Adobe Lightroom 3 and Save $100 with Coupon Code, and More
• Jump in with Free Adobe CS5 Deep Dive Product Sessions
• Top Ten Reasons to Upgrade to Photoshop CS5
• Photoshop CS5′s Content-Aware Fill: Before & After the Right Way
• Adobe Lightroom 4 Beta Release is Here! Now Available Free to Public

Adobe Photoshop is a sophisticated tool with a 21-year history and a seemingly-endless array of powerful capabilities.  And after spending $549 for the product with discounts (or $199 for students), who wants to pay a lot more to learn how to use it all?

Fortunately there are a number of avenues to get great training and tutorials for free. The first stop is Adobe TV, which has nearly four hours and 37 chapters of 100% free tutorials for Photoshop CS5 alone. There is also a wealth of content for prior versions like Photoshop CS3 and CS4. It’s a good place to get started and orient yourself with the major functions, and all of it is gratis.

For learning how to use the best new features added in Photoshop CS5, take a look at our collection of articles with tours of:

• Content-Aware Fill
• Puppet Warp
• Top Masking Techniques
• Creating Time-Lapse Videos
• Impressionist Oil Painting

We also have a regular page here on the site with a rotating selection of tuts for all versions of Photoshop, stepping through various tips and tricks. And for a terrific set of little-known but very handy techniques, check out Adobe’s Photoshop “Hidden Gems” series with Product Manager Bryan O’Neil Hughes.

Lynda.com is the leading independent website providing online video training for Adobe products, with nearly 800(!) hours of coursework for Photoshop – covering all versions dating back to Photoshop 6 in 2002. Courses are extensive, often running several days – and there are always some chapters that are free for anybody to view, with full access starting at $25/month. But we have partnered with them for our readers to receive a free 7-day trial with unlimited access to the entire site, and get one week of all 1,036 courses in their Online Training Library for free.

If you’d like a free top-flight course to really get you going in Photoshop from the ground up, check out the three online skills clinics below from the experts at National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP)…  These exclusive web-based training sessions with the “Photoshop Guys” are a great opportunity to quickly get up to speed on the timesaving features and breakthrough tools in the latest version.

If you don’t already have Photoshop, just download the free trial so you can work side-by-side in these three classes, which were originally given live to customers but are now available free to all users via on-demand replay:

• Class 1: Photoshop CS5 – Up & Running in No Time
• Class 2: Cool Photoshop Skills – Effects and Retouching Anyone Can Do with Photoshop CS5
• Class 3: Photoshop CS5 Street Smarts – Shortcuts, Killer Tips, and Next-Level Skills

These excellent Photoshop tutorial videos run four hours in total and can be viewed here: Exclusive Adobe Photoshop Clinic Webcasts.

Related Posts

• Free Printing Guide for Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator & Acrobat
• Free New Adobe CS5 Tutorials: 17+ Hours of Online Video Training
• How to Use Photoshop to Create a Time-Lapse Video from Photos
• Free: 4 Hours of Video Tutorials for New Photoshop Elements 10 & 9
• The Five Essential Principles of Web & Interaction Design: A Tutorial

[UPDATE (January 11th, 2012) – Adobe has listened to customers and just reversed this change! CS3, CS4, & CS5 are all good for upgrade to CS6 now.]

Earlier this month Adobe made a major change in the Creative Suite upgrade policy that has been in place since CS3 came out in April 2007…

Have you heard about it yet? If not, you might want to read the new upgrade policy for CS6.

Also helpful: see Adobe’s planned new business model, a membership-based Creative Cloud.

OK, all caught up? Good. So, how will these changes affect you?

First off, for anybody currently running the latest major release, Creative Suite 5 (either 5.0, 5.1, or 5.5), you’re fine. You will not be affected by this revision, and will be eligible for the discounted pricing on upgrades when CS6 comes out.

For everyone else, if you’re still running older versions – like CS2, CS3, or CS4 – when CS6 releases, you wouldn’t qualify for that upgrade price break. And customer reaction on this point has been understandibly unfavorable.

Adobe is trying to mitigate the impact of this change by offering an extra 20% off all CS5.5 upgrades worldwide until the end of the year the extended date of March 15, 2012 (see banner).

But in trying to figure out what this means for everybody, it might be helpful to first take a step back with the Creative Suite release history and expected future schedule… Here’s how the big picture looks:

So if Adobe continues as they anticipate, anybody who is running CS5 (or CS5.5) right now will be able to get low upgrade pricing to CS6 (or CS6.5) until that cycle completes in mid-2014. That’s over two years from now.

In other words, it’s likely that part of Adobe’s reasoning for moving from “three versions back” to a “one version back” upgrade policy is that the major releases are now spaced out to once every two years – so that someone who bought CS5.0 the moment it came out in 2010 could still qualify for discounted upgrade pricing to CS6.5 nearly four years later in 2014.

But for “version skippers” and other folks still running prior releases, what are your options?

Here are what the choices look to be:

1. Upgrade to CS5.5 now so you’re current, taking advantage of the additional 20% discount – and then revisit the question again before CS7 comes out in 2014.
2. Wait now, and then pay full price for a new copy of CS6, CS7, or a subsequent release.
3. Keep using the older software that you own now.
4. Convert to the optional “Creative Cloud” rental model, with access included to more applications and services so long as you’re paying the per-month subscription fee.

So, which will it be, what will you do?

And regarding Adobe’s business focus here, with the cloud model – what do you think, will it work? Is it the right move, at the right time? Or do you feel otherwise?

Take our instant poll:

Adobe’s Changes in the Model

Yes, I like what’s happening

No, it doesn’t appeal to me

Indifferent, I’ll buy either way

View resultsVote Now

Create an online survey quiz or web poll

Yes, I like what’s happening0%

No, it doesn’t appeal to me0%

Indifferent, I’ll buy either way0%

Create an online survey quiz or web poll

Tell us more below – here’s your chance to express your thoughts and feedback… We will be sharing the results with Adobe directly.

See also:  Acrobat, Lightroom, and Elements – How Will They Be Affected?

[UPDATE (January 11th, 2012) – After feedback, Adobe has now deferred this policy change.]

Related Posts

• Adobe CS6 Upgrade Policy Changes Postponed! CS3 & CS4 on Track
• Adobe Says No CS6 Upgrade Discounts from Older CS2, CS3, or CS4
• Adobe Extends 20%-Off CS5.5 Upgrades Discount Offer to March
• What are the Differences between CS5.5 vs. CS5 vs. CS4 vs. CS3?
• Get Your Upgrade to Adobe CS5.5 for 20% Less – Limited Promotion

[UPDATE (January 11th, 2012) – Adobe has listened to customers and just reversed this change! CS3, CS4, & CS5 are all good for upgrade to CS6 now.]

HUGE breaking news out from Adobe, regarding substantial changes in upgrade pricing and policies for their very popular Creative Suite software…

For several years, the company has offered a “three-versions-back” upgrade policy – meaning anyone who owned a prior CS product up to three major versions back would be eligible for discounted upgrade pricing when moving up to the latest release.

Meaning, if you’ve got CS2, CS3, or CS4 – either a full suite or an individual point product like Photoshop – you can receive price reductions of up to 80% when upgrading to CS5.5.

Adobe now says that will be ending – the policy is going to shift dramatically, worldwide.

Starting in 2012 when CS6 comes out, this will be changing to a “one-version-back” plan – meaning to receive a price break when upgrading to CS6, you need to already be on some flavor of Creative Suite 5 – either CS5 or CS5.5.

So, what does this mean for anybody still running CS2, CS3, or CS4 at that time?  Basically, if you want to upgrade later or have been waiting for CS6 to do so, it would cost you full price… To receive a discount from older versions, you’d need to upgrade to CS5 before CS6 ships.

Here it is straight from Adobe’s “Conversations” Blog:

With regards to upgrades, we are changing our policy for perpetual [permanent] license customers.

In order to qualify for upgrade pricing when CS6 releases, customers will need to be on the latest version of our software (either CS5 or CS5.5 editions).

In other words, soon Adobe will only be offering the traditional upgrade savings for one major version behind…  This will apply for both suites as well as the standalone applications.

There is a saving grace however – the company wants to help folks using these older versions to get current now with an extra 20% off the currently-discounted upgrade price:

If our customers are not yet on those versions, we’re offering a 20% discount through December 31, 2011 the extended date of March 15, 2012, which will qualify them for upgrade pricing when we release CS6.  [see banner below]

Why is Adobe doing this?  It’s part of extending their CS subscription offerings to encompass the recently-announced Creative Cloud initiative, which is also a subscription-based program.

Basically, they want to make more frequent innovation updates to the software to reflect our increasingly-dynamic environment with the web, smartphones, tablets, and mobile applications – and are adjusting the model to try to encourage customers towards cloud membership and keep them as current as possible with the products.

However, you can stick with traditionally-owned software if you desire, just like now:

For customers who prefer to remain on the current licensing model, we will continue to offer our individual point products and Adobe Creative Suite editions as perpetual licenses.

So if you’re one of them – and are happy and comfortable with your current permanent product instead of renting – then you might want to take a closer look at this fleeting window of upgrade opportunity, particularly with the extra 20% off worldwide – while it lasts.

Please spread the word and share this news with anyone who you think should know!

[UPDATE (Dec. 1st) – Share your thoughts and take our new poll on Adobe's model change, or see the impact on Acrobat, Lightroom, and Elements.]

[UPDATE (Jan. 11th, 2012) – After feedback, Adobe has now deferred this policy change.]

Related Posts

• Adobe Extends 20%-Off CS5.5 Upgrades Discount Offer to March
• Adobe CS6 Upgrade Policy Changes Postponed! CS3 & CS4 on Track
• Adobe’s New Upgrade Policy for CS6: What It Means for You [Poll]
• Get Your Upgrade to Adobe CS5.5 for 20% Less – Limited Promotion
• What are the Differences between CS5.5 vs. CS5 vs. CS4 vs. CS3?

Knowing how to make a good mask is one of the most important things you can learn to do in Photoshop. With accurate masks you can completely control the placement and movement of all the elements of your image. The techniques shared in these videos will help you get the most out of the new masking capabilities in Photoshop CS5… And when you combine them with the new content-aware fill feature to magically fill backgrounds of moved or deleted objects, well then you’ve really got something.

The first video is a two-part playlist, New Masking Basics: Get up-to-speed with the great new masking tools and techniques in Photoshop CS5, to quickly and easily create professional quality masks, including a photograph with challenging hair.

The second video, to the right, also plays in two parts – New Advanced Masking: Learn some of Photoshop guru Russell Brown’s favorite methods for masking out the background from a really difficult image.

The third and final video is Advanced Motion Blur Masking and Blending: This tutorial will get you through the toughest motion blur with flying colors… Also learn some advanced blending tips and techniques.

For full-screen viewing, click the expand icon and then 480p after pressing play on each thumbnail:

Related Posts

• Photoshop CS5′s Content-Aware Fill: Before & After the Right Way
• Adobe Photoshop Best Tips, Tricks, Techniques, Training & Tutorials
• Impressionist Oil Painting with Free Adobe Plug-in for Photoshop CS5
• Advanced Puppet Warping with Photoshop CS5
• Advanced Magic with Photoshop CS5′s Content-Aware Fill

[UPDATE (Jan. 2012) – This offer is extended!]

Are you thinking about moving up to to Creative Suite 5?  Well then here’s a special new offer – a nice bonus – that will help…

Right now you can save a further 20% off the normally-discounted upgrade price when you upgrade to CS5.5 (to either a suite or an individual product) from any earlier qualifying Adobe tool listed below.

This new offer is now available worldwide, with no coupon or promotion code necessary.  It’s valid for upgrading to all the latest CS5.5 versions, but also includes Photoshop CS5.1 and Illustrator CS5 as well.

North American Store:  Offer period is October 3, 2011 – December 31, 2011  March 15, 2012.
European Stores:  Offer period is 3 October, 2011 – 31 December, 2011  15 March 2012.
Australia/NZ + Asia:  Offer period is 9 November, 2011 – 31 December, 2011  15 March 2012.

So if you currently have one of these Adobe products with a valid license (either commercial or for education/student), then you qualify:

• Creative Suite 4 Design Premium, Design Standard, Web Premium, Web Standard, Production Premium, or Master Collection
• Creative Suite 3 Design Premium, Design Standard, Web Premium, Web Standard, Production Premium, or Master Collection
• Creative Suite 2 Premium or Standard
• Adobe Production Studio Premium or Standard
• Adobe Design Bundle (Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium and Macromedia Flash Pro 8)
• Adobe Web Bundle (Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium and Macromedia Studio 8)
• Adobe Video Bundle (Adobe Production Studio Premium and Macromedia Flash Pro 8)
• Macromedia Studio 8
• After Effects CS4, CS3, or 7.0 (Professional or Standard)
• Flash CS4 Pro or Flash CS3 Pro, Macromedia Flash Pro 8, or Flash Basic 8
• Illustrator CS4, CS3, or CS2
• Audition CS4, CS3, or CS2
• Dreamweaver CS4, CS3, or CS2
• Fireworks CS4, CS3, or CS2
• InDesign CS4, CS3, or CS2
• Photoshop CS4, CS3, or CS2
• Photoshop CS4 Extended or CS3 Extended
• Premiere Pro CS4, CS3, or CS2
• Any version of Adobe Premiere

If you want to try out the product upgrade first, you can download the free trial for any software you choose, and then later convert the trial to a permanent version using this offer if you like. This works even for upgrades, which will run side-by-side with your other installed Adobe tools without interference.

But take advantage of it while you can because pretty soon, CS2, CS3, and CS4 will not be upgradeable and you’ll only be able to upgrade from CS5 or later!

This offer is available in the following Country Stores: USA, Canada, Mexico, UK, Ireland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Portugal, Spain, Poland, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia (Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand), China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Hope this helps save you some money!

Read more about CS5.5

To receive future notification of special promotions and coupon codes like these, get on our free occasional Adobe Special Offers mailing list in the sidebar just up and to the right.

Related Posts

• Adobe Extends 20%-Off CS5.5 Upgrades Discount Offer to March
• Adobe Says No CS6 Upgrade Discounts from Older CS2, CS3, or CS4
• Adobe CS6 Upgrade Policy Changes Postponed! CS3 & CS4 on Track
• Adobe’s New Upgrade Policy for CS6: What It Means for You [Poll]
• Adobe Deal: Save 50%(!) on Premiere Pro CS5.5 or Production Suite